The Montreal Canadiens are the front-runners to land Alexandre Texier when he clears waivers
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman said that the Montreal Canadiens are the front-runner to land Alexandre Texier, who could clear waivers at 2:00 PM and could become a UFA.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Ron Maclean: “Elliotte, the Canadiens and the Leafs, just like a mash unit mosh pit over there. Maybe some help on the way for the Canadians?”
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Friedman: “Yes, so we’ll see. Like we have to wait until this happens at two o’clock Eastern . But Alexandre Texier, of the St Louis Blues, is on waivers tomorrow to terminate, waivers right now to terminate his contract. And if that happens, it will happen at 2:00 pm Eastern, he is free to sign with any team.
And the word around the league right now, if you ask people about where this is going to end up, the favorite is absolutely the Montreal Canadiens. Again, as we sit here night watching this Ron, he can’t do anything. They have to wait until 2:00 Eastern tomorrow. But all eyes are on Montreal for Texier as an unrestricted free agent.”
The NHL, NHLPA are giving the ICO and Milan a month to sort out the arena issue for the Winter Olympics
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman, updating the Milan arena issue for the Winter Olympics. They’ll keep quiet for a month, and there is no Plan B at the moment.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Ron Maclean: “The rink in Milan. What are you hearing?”
Friedman: “Yeah, so this is a popular one. Got asked a lot about this this week. As everybody knows by now, the NHL and the Players Association sent representatives there after the games last week in Sweden. And I think the thing you know, we’re all trying to find out, Ron is, when does panic set in?
Like, we’re all looking forward to Olympic hockey. Going to be a fantastic tournament. But you know, basically, I understand the NHL and the Players Association right now are just biting their tongues. They don’t want to pour gasoline on this, and if it’s turns into a big thing.
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And basically, from what I understand, is they’re giving everybody here a month, like just pre-Christmas, to sort this out and show it’s really going somewhere. So that’s the kind of timeline I’m looking at here, and we’re looking at here.
You know, one of the things I was curious about is I was one of a number of people who reported this week that there was no plan B, that there’s no other option. And I thought it was the league and the players who kind of said to the Olympic Committee, there’s no Plan B, like, we’re going there, and that’s it.
I heard it was the other way around. It was the Olympic Committee who said, ‘No, we’re getting this built, and we’re not going anywhere else.’ Because I heard there was some talk about should there be a plan B? But right now, they’re giving it a month, and they’re saying, ‘We’re not going to say anything that makes the situation worse.'”
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